Iran warns US against ‘creating new tensions’ over missile test

January 31 2017

UN Security Council to convene in emergency session called by Washington on Tehran’s ballistic drill

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday warned the United States against “creating new tensions” with Tehran over ballistic missile tests, a day after Israel’s prime minister said he would urge Washington to impose new sanctions over the launch.

“We hope that Iran’s defense program is not used by the new US administration… as a pretext to create new tensions,” Zarif said in a televised press conference with visiting French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.

The UN Security Council is due to hold emergency talks called by Washington on Tuesday on Iran’s recent test-firing of a medium-range missile, which Tehran has not confirmed.

Zarif said Washington — under former president Barack Obama — and Paris had “repeatedly confirmed” that Iran’s missiles are not part of a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

Iran says its missiles do not breach United Nations resolutions because they are for defense purposes and not designed to carry nuclear warheads.

“We have always declared that we will never use our weapons against others except in our defense,” Zarif said.

Following the launch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “flagrant violation” of the nuclear deal and said he would urge US President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on Iran during a meeting with him next month.

Ayrault said France had also expressed its concerns over the missile tests.

“France has expressed its concern at Iran’s continuation of its ballistic missile tests on several occasions,” he said.

He said the continued tests are “contrary to the spirit” of the Security Council resolution which enshrined a landmark July 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, and “hamper the process of restoring the confidence established by the Vienna agreement.”

The two top diplomats also criticized Trump’s recent executive order banning citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, among them Iran, from entering the US for 90 days.

Zarif slammed the new administration’s “shameful act of denying entry to people holding legal visas for that country which suffers from a poor international status,” referring to the United States.

Ayrault had said after arriving in Tehran on Monday night that it would be “common sense” for Trump to scrap the travel ban.